Bull Frogs and Fire Ants, Sun's Up daily painting by Everglades artist JoAnn Sanborn

Sun's Up
acrylic on canvas, 6"x6"

Artist Mary Sheehan Winn and I visited the Everglades last week to do a little painting and to take a little tour. In addition to her paint supplies, Mary never goes anywhere without a good supply of food and drink, so she's a great companion on an Everglades adventure.

Mother Nature was very cooperative. We had just started out when we were treated to the spectacular view of a bald eagle hunting. We pulled over and watched as the impressive bird swooped from the sky and scooped up a nice large fish, carried it off to some nearby shallow water and proceed to have his breakfast.

The Marsh Trail was our next stop, where we climbed the observation tower to catch a breeze. We could see several wading birds were fishing, and also heard a little bellowing and were not sure if it was a bull frog or an alligator since this is the time of year they're both quite noisy. Most likely the frog!

Jane's Scenic Drive also provided some wonderful sights and sounds, the most spectacular

being the gorgeous, abstract, complimentary-colored reflections in the gently moving water along the path. The sight was so beautiful and so absorbing that I forgot to look where I was stepping, and in the Everglades you do have to be careful!

Sure enough, a moment's inattention the fire ants were on me! It was ugly, but it's happened so many times that I knew instantly what it was and had them off me in seconds. Still, I'll carry the scars of a couple of bites for months. Ouch!

Maybe we didn't get too much painting done, but still, it was a perfect day in the Glades. Thanks for coming along, Mary.